Northwest wins in overtime over Lions

After letting go of an 11-point first half lead, Northwest Missouri State battled back from a six-point deficit in overtime to beat Missouri Southern 69-68 Thursday night at the Leggett and Platt Center in Joplin.

Northwest's DeAngelo Hailey scored the game-winning basket on a runner off the glass with 1.7 seconds left in overtime, and Southern's Marquis Addison was off target with a shot from the elbow at the buzzer.

The Lions held a 66-60 lead earlier in the overtime and had a chance to add to a one-point lead with 12 seconds left, but Blaine Miller missed a pair of free throws.

Northwest improved to 10-2 overall, 3-0 in the MIAA and 2-0 in overtime games. This was the team's first win in Joplin during head coach Ben McCollum's tenure.

The Lions dropped to 6-4 overall and 1-1 in the MIAA.

The game contained 16 lead changes and 10 ties, most of which occurred during a tight second half.

Northwest picked up 22 points on 9-12 shooting from junior big man Dillon Starzl. Hailey finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.

Bryston Williams pumped in nine points in a starting role.

Addison led all scorers in the game with 24 points and was a perfect 7-7 at the foul line. He also pulled down seven rebounds.

Stephen Atkinson scored 18 points and connected on three, 3-pointers. Jordan Talbert scored nine points before fouling out late in regulation.

Both teams made 23 field goals in the game. Northwest won the rebounding battle 37-30.

The Bearcats largest first half deficit was one point. Their largest lead was 11 and their halftime lead was four.

Northwest hit 11 of its first 18 shots and went up 28-17 on an inside basket by Tyler Funk with 8:03 left in the first half.

Southern paired the deficit down to 29-28 on a three-point play by Talbert. The Bearcats scored the next six points to lead 35-28 and went to the half up 36-32.

In the second half, breathing room was non-existent as neither team gained more than a three-point lead over the final 18 minutes.

With the game tied at 58, Addison made a reverse layup to put the Lions up two with 23 seconds left.

Williams drew a foul on a drive to the basket and made both free throw attempts to tie it at 60 with 17.6 seconds to go.

Addison missed an off-balance shot at the buzzer, sending it overtime. The Lions made six consecutive free throws to start the overtime, building their largest lead of six.

Northwest answered with seven straight points and took a 67-66 lead on a pair of free throws by Grant Cozad.

Addison sank a pair with 26.3 seconds left to give Southern a 68-67 lead.

A missed hook by Starzl forced Northwest to foul, and they sent Miller to the line with 12.3 seconds left.

He missed both, setting up Hailey's game-winner.

Northwest has a quick turn-around Saturday against Pittsburg State at 1:30 p.m. from Lance Arena.

The game will be televised on CBS College Sports Network.